Apple Country

September 28, 2026

Apple Country

There are parts of Adams County where the orchards just keep going.

Head north out of Gettysburg toward Biglerville in the fall and it doesn’t take long to understand why this corner of Pennsylvania is called apple country.

Rows of trees cover the hillsides. Farm markets advertise whatever is coming in from the orchards. Trucks and bins show up along roads that, the rest of the year, you might drive without giving much thought to what is growing around you.

In September and October, it’s hard to miss.

Adams County is one of the country’s major apple-growing regions, with much of the fruit grown along the slopes of South Mountain. The elevation, sloping ground and surrounding forests create particularly good conditions for orchards.

But you don’t really need to know any of that before you go.

You just need a car, a fall day and enough room in the trunk for whatever you end up bringing home.

Take the orchard roads

A good place to start is Gettysburg.

From Lincoln Square, take Route 34 north toward Biglerville. Once you’re out of town, the landscape starts changing pretty quickly.

This isn’t one orchard surrounded by subdivisions. You’re driving through a working agricultural region where generations of families have grown fruit, and harvest is happening all around you.

Stop along the way rather than trying to get anywhere quickly.

Hollabaugh Bros. Fruit Farm & Market is a third-generation family farm in Biglerville with a farm market, bakery and seasonal pick-your-own.

Boyer Nurseries & Orchards has been family-owned since 1900, with apples, cider, and pick-your-own during the fall.

Then head toward Cashtown and Historic Round Barn & Farm Market. The barn was built in 1914 and is worth seeing on its own, but downstairs you’ll find local produce, baked goods, and seasonal foods.

From there, keep going toward Orrtanna and Fairfield rather than immediately heading back to Gettysburg.

This is one of those drives where the roads between the stops are part of the reason you’re here.

Want someone else to build the route? Adams County’s 2026 Field to Festival Trail runs through October 31 and connects orchards, farm markets, cider makers, and other agricultural stops throughout the county.

It’s still a working harvest

It’s easy to look at an orchard full of red apples in October and see fall scenery.

For the people growing them, this is work.

Different varieties ripen at different times, which means harvest stretches across weeks rather than happening all at once. Penn State tracks apple maturity in Adams County throughout the season, following everything from firmness and color to sugar and starch levels to help growers determine when different varieties are ready.

Some apples will end up at farm markets a few miles away. Others are packed and shipped much farther. Some become cider, baked goods or other products.

Knowing that makes driving through the orchards a little more interesting.

You’re not visiting something set up for fall.

You happen to be visiting when one of the busiest times of the year is underway.

Stay for the weekend

You have plenty of options here, and you don’t have to stay in Gettysburg.

• Hickory Bridge Farm | Orrtanna — A historic farmhouse and cottages about 15 minutes from Gettysburg, right in the countryside we’re here to explore.
• Mansion House 1757 | Fairfield — A six-room historic inn with its own farm-to-table restaurant, good if you’d rather stay in a small town than downtown Gettysburg.
• The Brafferton Inn | Gettysburg — Stay here if you want to park the car at the end of the day and walk around Lincoln Square.

Eat and drink something local

You already have plenty of farm markets for cider, baked goods and whatever apples are coming in that week. Save a little room for a few other stops.

• Reid’s Winery: The Cider House | Gettysburg — Hard cider made with Adams County apples, with a tasting room right in town.
• Mansion House 1757 | Fairfield — Seasonal, farm-to-table dinner in the historic inn.
• Thirsty Farmer Brew Works | Biglerville — Across the road from the Round Barn, making it an easy stop while you’re already out in orchard country.

Time it with a fall weekend

You could come up here on any October weekend and have plenty to do, but there are a few dates worth knowing.

• PippinFest | Sept. 26–27 — Fairfield’s small-town fall festival, named for the Pippin apple, with food, crafts, a quilt show, old-fashioned games and a Sunday car show.
• National Apple Harvest Festival | Oct. 3–4 & 10–11 — The big one in Biglerville, with apple everything, orchard tours, demonstrations, food and hundreds of vendors.
• Bridges of Adams County Road Rally | Oct. 17 — A nearly 60-mile drive through Adams County during fall color, following clues and back roads to historic bridges and other stops.
• Harvest Day | Oct. 24 — New Oxford’s fall festival and parade, with food, crafts, a car show and a town-wide Harvest Hunt.

If you’re not ready to go home

Stay another day.

Drive the Gettysburg battlefield once the leaves start changing, or head toward South Mountain and spend some time in Michaux State Forest.

Or make the drive east to New Freedom and climb aboard Northern Central Railway. Fall foliage excursions run throughout October, including both diesel and steam-powered trips through the southern Pennsylvania countryside.

Then there is Gettysburg itself.

Walk Lincoln Square. Find breakfast. Spend a few hours at the battlefield if you haven’t been in a while. Have a hard cider before dinner.

You can fit a surprising amount into a weekend here without feeling like you’re checking things off a list.

And somewhere between the orchards, the old barn, the farm markets and the bags of apples now riding around in your back seat, Adams County starts to make a little more sense.

Come for apple season.

Stay long enough to see the country they come from.